American Morning
Official: Drug lords using 'gift cards' to smuggle money
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/10/goddard.arizona.art.jpg caption="Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says Mexican drug cartels use gift card technology to smuggle money across the U.S. border."]
The state of Arizona is finding itself on the front line of the war against Mexican drug cartels. Their attorney general will meet this week with leaders of other southwestern states to try to stop the flow of drugs across the border with Mexico. To do that, they say they will have to stop the flow of cash as well, including a new way smugglers are trying to get past the cash-sniffing dogs.
Lawmakers say gift card technology is now making it easier for drug lords to move cash across the border undetected. These 'stored value instruments' are often issued by offshore banks and allow large sums of money to be moved throughout the world. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: Walk us through these gift cards. How have they become so useful to the drug cartels?
Terry Goddard: This isn't your Starbucks or Best Buy gift cards. What we're talking about here are stored value instruments, which have chips in them…that basically can store fairly large amounts of cash. The total amount is undetermined; it depends on who the depositing bank or financial institution is. As a result, since they're not considered monetary instruments, they can be taken across the border and you don't break any laws. It is a huge loophole in our financial crimes observations.
Chetry: So you're talking about gift cards, these blank cards that can be preloaded with large amounts of cash. How do they cash it in once they get across the border?
Goddard: These basically are your passport for cash. They are your way of getting into a financial institution. If you're buying coffee with them, obviously your return is not that big. But if you've got a participating financial institution, say in the Cayman Islands or in Central America, then all you have to do is go to a group that corresponds with that financial institution, present your card and take out your cash. So there's nothing at the border that you have to display. Under U.S. law, these cards, however much they may be worth are not considered financial instruments. Therefore, the border patrol, customs agents when they see them there is no violation because they're not part of the money that you're required to declare. And they can't read them, which is a big problem. Basically we need to have transparency so that if a law enforcement agency looks at one of these cards, he or she knows how much it is worth.
Finding college cash in tough times
By Ben Kaplan – Founder of CityofCollegeDreams.org
Not too many years ago, I was caught in the classic middle-income financial-aid crunch. The obvious options: take on piles of debt or settle for a much cheaper school.
Fortunately, I stumbled upon a third way: Over the course of my senior year in high school, I applied for three dozen scholarship awards. With a healthy dose of determination, some dogged detective work, and more than a little elbow grease, my efforts paid off. When the dust settled, I had accumulated more than two dozen scholarships worth $90,000-enough for me to attend Harvard University virtually for free.
These days, I answer thousands of questions on the topic at my CityofCollegeDreams Web site and at my national "Paying-for-College Pajamas Workshops." Here are answers to four of the most frequently asked questions.
Q: Are scholarships only for exceptional students?
Many students mistakenly assume that they must have sky-high GPAs or amazing SAT scores to win merit scholarships. Although some scholarships use grades and test scores to evaluate merit, others use criteria such as extracurricular activity participation, leadership ability, community service involvement, obstacles overcome, family affiliations and much more. Contrary to popular belief, "merit" is not another word for "academics."
Q: When should I begin looking for scholarships?
For many students, the process begins during the junior and senior years of high school. The earlier you can start, the better. Some students may want to start searching as early as seventh or eighth grade because of the many learning contests for younger kids that include scholarship awards (usually as a cash prize or U.S. savings bond).
But it's never too late. Once students select their academic majors and potential career paths in college, a wide range of corporations, foundations, professional associations likely offer scholarships in those fields. There are a lot of scholarships for adult returning students, too.
Q: How can I find scholarships on the Internet?
A nice way to get your feet wet is with free Internet scholarship search databases. You fill out questionnaires and these databases match you up with scholarships that fit your personal characteristics.
Just one big piece of advice-none of these databases are comprehensive, so search as many as you can. To start, go to www.CityofCollegeDreams.org and use my free "Scholarship Surfer" tool to connect with and optimize these helpful resources.
Q: Is it really worth all of the work?
For every dollar of scholarship money you receive, you can potentially save more than two dollars in student loan principal and compounded interest. Better yet, by avoiding substantial student debt, you will open up a wide range of exciting opportunities and possibilities when you graduate. In the final tally, it's a simple equation: More scholarships = less debt = greater freedom. That's powerful motivation, to say the least.
Ben Kaplan is the creator of the new DVD, "Finding College Cash in Tough Times." He is hosting a free scholarship workshop on June 18 at 9:00 p.m. EDT that you can watch online or listen to on the telephone. Visit http://www.CityofCollegeDreams.org/workshop for more information.
What's on Tap – Wednesday June 10, 2009
Hey everyone, here's today's top stories we'll be covering on the show:
- There is breaking news this morning of engine trouble forcing an Airbus to make an emergency landing. Spain's airport authority tells CNN the jet experienced engine trouble shortly after taking off from the Canary Islands and was forced to turn around. The flight was heading for Oslo, Norway and was in the air for a total of ten minutes. A spokesperson says there were no injuries on board and denied reports that the engine caught fire.
- An FAA whistleblower – saying he was ignored – when he warned the agency about safety problems in a plane that fell from the sky a few months ago outside Buffalo. It's an interview you won't see anywhere else this morning.
- If you buy it, you have to pay for it. That's the spending plan the president is pushing Congress to pass. It's called PAYGO – pay as you go – but Jim Acosta tells us the simple concept is already getting complicated.
- And a CNN exclusive: Scott Roeder – the man charged with murdering a Kansas abortion provider – talking with our Ted Rowlands. The jail cell interview you won't see anywhere else.
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